Hundreds of young people have been gaining hands-on experience of healthcare while helping to improve the experience of patients at hospitals across Sandwell and West Birmingham.
More than 250 young people are involved in Youth Space, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust’s youth programme, with around 90 regularly taking part in sessions and activities designed to give young people a meaningful voice in healthcare.
From speaking directly to patients about their experiences and inspecting hospital services from a patient’s perspective, to helping tackle boredom on wards and learning lifesaving resuscitation skills, Youth Space members have been getting an unusual behind-the-scenes insight into the NHS.
One of the key activities Youth Space members take part in is the ‘15 Steps Challenge’, which encourages participants to experience a healthcare environment through the eyes of a patient or visitor.
Young people visit clinical areas and consider the experience a patient might have within their first 15 steps entering the department – looking at everything from the welcome they receive and the environment around them to how information is provided and how the service makes them feel. Their observations are then fed back to teams, highlighting what is working well and where the patient experience could be improved.
Members have also supported the Trust’s popular ‘Anti-boredom Box’ initiative, visiting wards with activities designed to help patients pass the time during a hospital stay.
During the summer break Youth Space members have been taking the opportunity to develop skills and learn more about careers in healthcare with members undertaking media training to build confidence in public speaking and interviews, learning basic life support and resuscitation and taking part in medical school interview preparation with mock interviews.
Jayne Salter-Scott, Head of Partnerships and Community Engagement at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said:
“Young people have an important perspective on healthcare, and we want them to have a genuine opportunity to influence what we do.
“Youth Space is the Trust’s youth voice and allows us to meaningfully involve young people giving us invaluable insight into the issues that matter to them and helps make sure our decisions are relevant and reflect the communities we serve.
“In return, they are supported to build their confidence, develop new skills, meet people working across healthcare and get experiences that can be incredibly valuable when they are thinking about their future.
“We have put together a fantastic programme this summer, working with teams across the Trust and our partners to give young people opportunities they might not otherwise get.”
Jayne added:
“What makes the programme particularly special is that young people aren’t passive participants. They are contributing to the experience of our patients and helping influence how our services develop.”
Youth Space is open to young people aged 13 to 21 who are interested in health, healthcare careers or simply want to make a difference in their community.
Regular Youth Space sessions take place on the last Tuesday of each month.
Young people interested in joining can find out more at swbh.nhs.uk or email swbh.engagement@nhs.net.
